Cordray, not Warren, to lead CFPB

President Obama has selected former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to lead the embattled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Obama will make the announcement Monday from the White House. The report first appeared Sunday in the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch.

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Cordray, 52, currently serves as the director of enforcement for the Bureau, and has been among names discussed for the position, although he has largely been absent from the public rumor mill surrounding the nomination in recent weeks.

“Richard Cordray has spent his career advocating for middle-class families, from his tenure as Ohio’s attorney general, to his most recent role as heading up the enforcement division at the [Bureau] and looking out for ordinary people in our financial system,” Obama said in a statement.

In the newspaper report, Elizabeth Warren endorsed Cordray’s nomination, even though she was not ultimately nominated to lead the agency that she has been credited with proposing.

A person familiar with Warren’s thinking said that she very much wanted the job, but acknowledged that she would not be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In addition to Cordray, Raj Date, a top aide at the Bureau, would also have been one of Warren’s top choices.

“Rich has always had my strong support because he is tough and he is smart-and that’s exactly the combination this new agency needs,” she said. “He was one of the first senior leaders I recruited for the agency, and his work and commitment have made it clear that he will make a stellar director.”

Obama also praised Warren for her work in standing up the agency and for advocating for consumers throughout her career.

“This agency was Elizabeth’s idea, and through sheer force of will, intelligence, and a bottomless well of energy, she has made, and will continue to make, a profound and positive difference for our country,” Obama said.

Cordray, a Democrat, lost his reelection bid in November to Republican Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator. He has also served as the state’s treasurer and in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Republicans responded to the announcement about Cordray with a reminder that they intend to oppose “any nominee, regardless of party affiliation” unless the White House made a slew of changes to the agency.

In a May 5 letter to Obama, 44 Republicans said that no nominee would be confirmed unless there were structural reforms in place to make the agency more “transparent” and “accountable to the American people.”